ManyRoads,  Tips & Opinions

Look in a mirror…

People fear the past… they fear their history.  I have had countless conversations with family genealogists who have problems bringing unwanted, or bad news to their families. The bad news is ‘how you say???’ — rarely well received.

Bad news is a term I use loosely.  More precisely I am referring to the news that family members don’t want to hear. Or in my case, they have other tales and myths that they really want you to re-enforce, not deny.

If you have looked closely at this site (ManyRoads), you have noticed news like that.  Every family has undesireables, be they facts, people or circumstances. However the truth is always the best policy!

What I tell people when they encounter genealogical resistence is to have their recalcitrants stand in front of a mirror; look closely at what they see; and thank all those people and stories they want to know nothing about.  Were it not for those predecessors they would not be there.  The reflection would be someone else.  We are our accumulated past.  The interesting people, the boring people, the successful people, the failures… we are all of that and more.

We are interesting!  And the truth of who we are is essential.

ManyRoads Creator, Professional Genealogist, Family Historian, ManyRoads Podcast co-host, Old Guy and most importantly 'opa'